Taste of Fear by Jadran Hawke, Sets Off New Exciting Thriller Series!

 OMG,
I went looking for a pic of a dripping candle, thinking that was as close as I would
get to this bizarre serial killer...and this is what turned up! Geesh!  Fine Art???! OK, you can tell my personal opinion about this, but I have to say, "Now I know where the author got the idea..."  And it certainly grabs the attention of the reader...

“What happened to her?” 
“Asphyxia.”
“Suicide?”
“Murdered. But not the way you might imagine.”
 “What am I supposed to imagine?” 
“There was no violence. No sign of obvious struggle . Most likely, she was consenting when it happened…”
 “Sexual games?”
 “Something like that. Her body is covered with candle wax.”

~~~

Taste of Fear:
A John Montclair Thriller

By Jadran Hawke

Fortunately, there is not too much graphic discussion of the terrible crime scenes, yes, more than one, and the main character, John Montclair, quickly gets readers involved in this short story which begins the series. Or what could maybe be better described as a serial, since this book and perhaps more of them leave you hanging... I must say that reading it on my kindle led me to immediately try to buy the next one, although I couldn't get to Amazon for some reason, else I would already have the next book! This first story is about 100 pages and a quick read. I'm not sure I'll proceed with the entire group, but it will be only because of time constraints if I don't... 

If you enjoy serial killer thrillers and matching wits against those who think they'll never get caught, then be assured that John Montclair is worthy of the task, at least for now...

“I’m still her father. Always will be.

 No matter how many new daddies

 you bring her home.”

~~~

John is freshly divorced and not happy about it, especially since he doesn't see his daughter as much as he'd like. But marriage and homicide doesn't seem to work and his ex-wife had the normal feelings. She was already out dating but he hadn't even considered it, until he had met a woman during this investigation.

The thing he was most upset about was that his ex-wife was bringing her many dates home with her and Claire had begun to talk to her father about all the "dads" that came to visit...

John hesitated and took a deep breath. “She told me that you keep coming home with new boyfriends all the time. I don’t think a five-year-old needs to see how active her mother is with her dating life. She should stay with me. All the time. At least, until you find your perfect match.” 

He heard Julie sighing. “Hey, stop being sarcastic. I’ve given up the idea of finding someone perfect since we’ve been married. And she’s just a kid. She exaggerates. It’s not that often and when it happens, she’s always in bed.”

“Not asleep, apparently… She knows when somebody’s with you. If she ever hears anything gross, I warn you I will–”

 “Listen,” Julie said, a hint of impatience in her voice. “I would never do anything that could hurt my little baby, so don’t–” 

“Our little baby,” John said, raising his voice. Julie paused for a moment, surprised by the interruption. “Yes … Our daughter.” 

~~~

I wonder what would have happened if John had realized that on his way to the crime scene, he had talked to the killer...

Just an average Sunday night in

 Paris.  He headed for the metro. 

He wanted to be lost in the crowd, 

be elbow-to-elbow with innocent

 people while walking away from

 a crime scene. That was freedom. 

He started to feel cold and walked

 more quickly into the bowels of the

 Parisian metro. He didn’t see the

 tall man coming up in front of him,

 and they bumped into each other.

 “Excuse me,” the tall man said.

 The Dark Stallion said nothing. 

He grunted and simply glanced at him

 without a word. The man was pretty

 strong. The Dark Stallion wasn’t

 hurt, but still a bit shocked by the

 impact. The tall man had short

 black hair , a little bit of a beard

and a strong jaw. He was wearing

a grade hoodie and black

sweatpants, with white sneakers.

“I said excuse me; you don’t know

 how to say sorry or what?” the tall 

man said behind him. 

The Dark Stallion looked away and

 just kept walking.

 Parisians were so rude. Asshole.

~~~

The Dark Stallion was walking in the streets and smiling. A young woman, probably a student, caught his eyes and smiled back . Women usually smiled at him. Women liked him. Women found him charming and entertaining. Despite being nearly forty, he looked exceptionally young for his age. No more than thirty, according to all his female friends. He took great care of his appearance because he liked it and because he could afford to. His professional situation allowed him a lot of flexibility and it paid pretty well.
An important part of his budget was dedicated to his wardrobe and his many “accessories”. The bag he was carrying was full of these “accessories” and he no longer needed them. He tossed the bag in an empty bin and kept walking without looking around. He was satisfied. Proud of himself . Fulfilled. He was strolling along the pavement with no particular destination in mind.
He didn’t want to go home. Not yet. He needed to fill his lungs with the cold air of Paris, the city of love. He could still smell Liliane Genet’s perfume. She was a beautiful and successful manager for a big bank at La Défense, Europe’s largest business center. He could still see her green eyes filled with lust when he manacled her in her bed, completely naked except for her red high heels. She was so delicious. He had been fantasizing about her for weeks. And today, he had finally taken her. He had been attracted to her physique, but not only that. The Dark Stallion needed more stimulation.

There were hundreds and hundreds of beautiful women out there but many of them were dumb. He needed some kind of connection. His sexual arousal was at its peak when he was also stimulated intellectually. It was part of the challenge. The Dark Stallion loved beautiful and powerful women. Independent women. Strong women with authority and successful careers. It made them more unattainable, more desirable.
And whenever they finally gave in and opened up to him, it made him feel even more powerful. There was no thrill in picking the low-hanging fruits. Only the rare ones were worth his time.      
                                                     ~~~

The woman worked as head of securities within the business center but there were no clues to help in any way...

At first, there was a quick connection to a man who worked with her, but after visiting La Club Coquin, they discovered he didn't fit the profile... The second also worked in a bank, but in a different location. Again, the crime scene was meticulous and it was clear that the victims were letting the individuals into their home...

The new romance in Montclair's life is going slow, since he's so busy with the cases, but she seems to be interested so he thinks of her for a possible future, only to consider how Claire might react to her. He knew if a choice would have to be made, Claire would always be the winner. But when John has to cancel a date to pick up Claire for the weekend, which he had forgotten was scheduled, the decision was made for him when he had to ask Cecile to take care of her...

Which led to his slowly putting two and two together to stop The Dark Stallion...

But it's not a happy ending as most serial programs love to keep you hanging! If you don't mind that, this is a (free, right now) short that will certainly do an excellent job of introducing the main character as a "good guy." worth following as a homicide crime investigator. Do check it out!


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